Punjabi food with passion, is from the land of five rivers “Punjab” (or Panjab) has now become synonymous with the ubiquitous Sarson Da Saag; Makki Di Roti; Maa Ki Daal; Amritsari Machchi; Butter Chicken; succulent Naan’s; Chholey Kulchey; Gajar Da Halwa and last but not the least Chicken Tikka that is on every palate.
Robust; hearty; earthy; delectable; lip smacking; delightful and sinful Punjabi cuisine certainly tops my list of favourite cuisines and would certainly be up there on your list too; a typical Punjabi breakfast would comprise of Aloo (Potato); Gobi (Cauliflower); Pyaaz (Onion); Mooli (Daikon) or then Paneer (Cottage Cheese). Paranthas lovingly topped up with dollops of freshly churned butter and bowls of freshly set dahi (yogurt) that would not only leave you smacking your lips but calling for second and third helpings.
No typical Punjabi breakfast would ever be complete without a copper glass filled to the brim with sinfully rich lassi topped off with a generous amount of malai (fresh cream) or then Rabdi as the case may be; sounds too good to be believable then hold your breath cause this is just the beginning.
A veritable paradise for every die hard vegetarian or hard core carnivore; Punjabi cuisine offers the best of both world’s to both the vegetarian and non-vegetarian or then herbivores and Maasahari’s what with every Punjabi meal being a veritable journey through gastronomic delights such as the famed Maah Ki Dal or delicately spiced and flavoured lentils cooked with generous amounts of both butter and ghee as well as simmered for hours together on earthen stoves {chulhas} that only serve to embellish and supplement it’s already exotic and out worldly flavours.
Accompanied by the age old favourite aloo gobi; gobi mussalam; jeera aloo; baingan da bhartha; aloo vadiyaan and any other dish that you can think of; this yummy and sinfully rich spread must have surely sent all die hard vegetarians into raptures/paroxsyms of delight at the very thought of such a spread garnishing their plates; taste buds and senses.
There is no need for non-vegetarians to despair as Punjabis as are fond of their Kukkad Shukkad (chicken) and meat as they are of Makki Di Roti and Sarson Da Saag; to top it all every province or city is more than sure to have a signature dish of it’s very own like the Kukkad Lahori; Amritsari; Peshawari; or then Machchi Amritsari; Mutton Dhabewala or Rara and so on and so forth.
Pickles of every hue; variety; combination; colouration and taste prove to be the best accompaniment to any and every gourmet Punjabi meal with my personal favourites being my mother’s Aam (mango) pickle swimming in fragrant mustard (sarson) ka tel (oil); gobi; gajar (carrot); shalgam (turnip) pickle and last but not the least sweet and aromatic meethey aam ka aachar swimming in it’s very own pool of liquid jaggery and juices that set it apart from the rest of the lot.
A walk down Delhi’s very own Khari Baoli or Sadar Bazar would surely send every pickle lover to heaven and beyond as bylane after bylane of these age old bazaars that have been around since times immemorial are dotted with hovels; shops and hattis selling pickles guaranteed to satiate every discerning; gourmet or then drooling palate like mine.
Varieties of pickles; murabbas; chutneys; and other such intoxicating concoctions dot the landscape and leave you wondering how these dextrous hands and wizened eyes can conjure up more pickles than one can even begin to imagine or conjure up in moments both wakeful as well as comatose what with oddities like karela ka aaachar; tindey ka aachar; khumb ka acchar and many others doing the rounds.
Sinful; colourful; fragrant; aromatic and heavenly desserts like my very own favourites; Gajar Da Halwa; Besan Da Halwa; Sooji Da Halwa; Panjeeri; Moong Dal Da Halwa; Shakar Paare; Gur Ke Paare and last but not the least sweet matthis end every Punjabi meal in regal splendour and the fame of these desserts has reached so far and wide that the kada Prasad (Sooji Da Halwa) served at Amritsar’s iconic; hallowed and blessed “Golden” Temple has found a noteworthy mention in the iconic “Guinness Book of World Records” for it’s uniformity of taste; fragrance; heartiness and the gigantic quantities in which the same is cooked and served to the lakhs of devotees and faithful who make their way to the Golden Temple every single day.
Ladies and gentlemen; I now have the pleasure and delight of unfurling or then unfolding before you ; the answer to every ardent food lovers prayer; Punjabi cuisine; very simply the best cuisine in the world by far; and if you don’t believe me ask Jiggs Kalra; Sanjeev Kapoor; Tarla Dalal; Vikas Khanna; Aditya Bal and their likes who have made their name; fame and fortune by churning out their very own versions of the iconic Punjabi cuisine that has withstood the test of time and generations.